A fire broke out at a Baltic Sea terminal belonging to Novatek, Russia's largest liquefied natural gas producer.
It comes after a suspected Ukrainian drone attack, forcing the company to suspend some operations there.
According to Novatek's website the Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St Petersburg, processes stable gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoline.
The Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing unnamed sources, said the fire was the result of a special operation carried out by Ukraine's security services. Reuters could not confirm that the fire resulted from a Ukrainian drone attack.
Smoke and fire seen at distance at Novatek facility
Reuters
Leningrad region's governor Alexander Drozdenko said on the Telegram messaging app, that there had been no casualties and that all workers had been safely evacuated.
Russian news agencies reported that two storage tanks and a pumping station had been damaged, but that the fire had now been brought under control.
Novatek said in a statement it had suspended some operations after the fire which it said was the result of "external influence."
Russian news outlet Shot reported that local residents had heard a drone operating nearby followed by several explosions.
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Russian gas producer Novatek
Reuters
It is the latest of a series on attacks taking place on key energy infrastructure in both Ukraine and Russia.
On Friday, a drone attack hit an oil depot in Russia's western region of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine, for which Moscow blamed Kyiv. That came a day after an attack on a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal that Russian officials said was unsuccessful.
Baza, a Russian news outlet known for its security services contacts, posted footage on Telegram of large flames shooting into the sky over what appeared to be an industrial complex.
Drozdenko said a "high alert regime" had been introduced and that officials had gathered for an emergency meeting.
Fire broke out at the facility
Reuters
Three international tanker ships were anchored near the fire, though there were no reports of damage to them, the Fontanka outlet said.
According to the most recent data available, Novatek processed 3.4 million tons of stable gas condensate at the complex in the first half of 2023.
This was up 0.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
